Rigor Mortis Abt | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

Notes / Commercial Description:
Strong brown ale inspired by the beer brewed by Belgian Trappist monks. Very little bitterness, this beer has intense malty and sweet flavours, mixed with the taste of chocolate and caramel. It presents complex red fruit and spice flavours due to the type of yeast that is used during the brewing process. This beer is at its best only after it has aged for six months. The Rigor Mortis are complex beers designed and brewed with patience and care in the tradition of the great Belgian Abbey beers.

Smell is...well it's nice except for a wet cardboard note. As it warms you get some dusty Belgian quad notes for sure. Sweet, brown sugar, maple, prunes and figs. The lactic/cardboard notes don't do it for me though. Luckily the taste is much better than the aroma.

Reminds me of Chimay Blue, actually. Very nice. Musty malts, dark fruits like prunes and figs, brown sugar and molasses. Bit of chocolate and lots of sugary candy.Yeah, the taste is spot on--not as good as Rochefort 10 or anything, but comparable to Chimay Blue. Dusty, sugary malts--a bit of that Belgian yeastiness and not much alcohol, honestly. Just a nice, sweet sugary Belgian malt flavour.

Good mouthfeel, medium to full. Low carbonation and easy to drink if you like sweet beers, which I do.

Much, much better than Peche Mortel which I felt was a complete letdown.

The aroma was a bit less than I had hoped for but the taste is damn good. About as good a quad as I've had outside of Belgium.

Pours a hazy brown, almost apple cider-like color. Has a quickly-dissipating quarter to half finger head. Smells like dark fruits, mostly apple and cherry, but also slightly metallic. Not a good sign for coming out of a bottle. A little bit of malt comes thru on the third or fourth whiff. Taste a similar; a mix of cherry, malt, and alcohol. It does have a slightly spicy (possibly clove or cinnamon) finish that lingers on the tongue in a nice way. Definitely a beer to take your time on, savor, and see what other flavors come up after it warms a bit, in part due to its ABV. Not a bad beer, but it's not one that's a must-have either.

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an El Catador teku glass.

A: Very hazy to murky brown, and essentially opaque. A thin tan head fades quickly, with a good amount of visible carbonation but also a fair amount of floaters and yeast sediment. Not overly attractive.

S: Belgian fruity and flowery yeast esters (apple and pear predominate) over lightly toasted bready malt sweetness. A small amount of the oxidation/cardboard here as well, though it's not obnoxious. Not a big aroma overall. I don’t think the label said “Quad” (as it's listed here), but this doesn’t smell at all big and fruity and boozy and raisiny like most quads. Hmmm.

T: Malty sweetness, brown sugar, and a light toast to the malts. Fruity yeast esters (fleshy fruit mostly, with lighter banana and spices). Sorghum and pears. There's just enough hop bitterness at the end to prevent it from seeming cloying.

M: A medium body, with a sticky mouthfeel. Fairly low carbonation sensation and the alcohol presence is well-hidden for the listed ABV, though it is a little warming.

O: Maybe this needs to warm up quite a bit from refrigerator temperature...
Nope, that’s about what I get out of this. As some kind of odd Belgian/brown ale hybrid, it isn’t objectionable albeit a little weird. But as a quad it’s a failure. Ratings given reflect the disparity this beer has with its intended style.
Just to rate it as a beer for enjoyment, I'd estimate a score of closer to 3.6/5.
I still have a 2013 vintage in the cellar. If a good number of years have a significant positive impact, I'll update this review.

1 year in the cellar : Deeply clouded and murky reddish brown color with good activity and a floating mist of yeast. Faint creamy light brown 1 finger head, lasting around 2 minutes, with a swirl it makes decent legs. Flavors of prunes, plums, cherries, raisins, walnuts, dark roasted grains, molasses, caramel, coffee, cocoa, wood, herbal spices. Thick and rich dark fruity sugary feel, appetizer like, yet with a sharp spicy and malty sensation. Slick and smooth medium body with almost champagne like carbonation, highly crispy. Very strong finish, vinous and port like, pleasant dark fruits with burnt malts, sharp earthy spices and yeast, with notes of peppercorn and oak. I can almost directly taste the barrel. Not excessively dry and heavy like most Quads, more leaning towards a barley wine feel. Incredible taste, balance, and intensity. Highly complex with tons of rich flavors. Highly warming and still a bit fresh. Overall exquisite quality craft. Probably the best one from DDC, truly my favorite one form them until now, the hype is real. I can rarely drink a whole bottle of quad by myself, but this time it was so easy.

Bottled on 10/23/15. 5.35$ a beer
Smell sweet and boozy. Like other reviews, would confirm the lack of head and retention. Taste is sweet and fruity with medium mouthfeel. Little aftertaste and drinkable. Unfortunately the price will keep it out of my fridge unless it's a special occasion.

I began this latest quest on Monday, which was Canadian Thanksgiving Day, by scouring my backlog to see what Canadian beers might lay in wait. Unfortunately for my plans, two of the first three were a**kicking AMLs from Labatt & then I was on a planned expedition yesterday. This is less hair of the dog and more like the horse that I rode in on. This bottle was procured at Hunger 'n' Thirst here in Lancaster, PA and seems to indicate a January 2014 bottling date. Mmm.

From the bottle: " Rigor Mortis Abt is a full-bodied brown ale inspired by the Quadrupel beer style brewed by Belgian monks. Offering very little bitterness, this beer has intense malty and sweet flavours, mixed with the taste of chocolate and caramel coming from the malt. It presents complex red fruits and spice flavours due to the Belgian-type yeast we use to ferment it. This beer is at its best after it has aged for at least six months."

No problem as to that last. My problem stems from the fact that they put such a marvelous beer into a screwed-up screw-top bottle! I will buy the idea of oxygen-fixing crown caps, but not when a thread exists that may lead to oxygen being leeched into the bottle & its contents. Smyert botylok! Deprived of the Pop! & not wanting to rouse any lees, I went with a gentle pour. An in-glass swirl raised a brief finger of foamy, light-tan head that quickly fell back to wisps. Color was a slightly hazy Copper-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22). Nose had a rich chocolate & caramel scent, along with a leatheriness and a slight alcohol burn. I am sure that it is very hot when young, hence their urge to allow it to age, even for just six months. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was candy-sweet! It put me in mind of a 100 Grand bar with its caramel and chocolate flavors, but this also had a fruitiness, not necessarily of "red fruits", but more like dried, dark fruits, like prunes, figs, raisins & dates. Following my initial swallow, I also caught a light alcohol burn, especially on the tongue, but creeping into my sinuses. Also of interest & note was the fact that it was beginning to clarify as it warmed. It was also throwing more fusel alcohol heat than it had been cold, so the two may be interrelated somehow. The warmth intensified the chocolate flavor, making it very sweet. Finish was sweet, very chocolaty, but with caramel and fruit flavors underlying the chocolate. I fully agree with putting some age on this one & I would recommend it more as a dessert beer, or in lieu of dessert, with coffee & perhaps a cigar.